by Andrew Sacher

Marketa Irglova (aka 1/2 of The Swell Season) released her first solo album, Anar, this past October via ANTI-. Though she's credited as a main writer for a few of The Swell Season's songs, her personality as a songwriter comes through much stronger here than on any Swell Season album. The songs are all led by her piano which tends to suit her voice better than Glen Hansard's folk guitar. There's also a lot of early Joni Mitchell coming through and the horns on "Go Back" tread into Feist territory. The video for "Crossroads" is below and the album is available on iTunes.

She played some shows in November including one at Bowery Ballroom. She has a few upcoming dates in February including two in NYC happening on February 15 and February 22 at Joe's Pub. Tickets for both shows are on sale now.

In related news, the "Once" musical (which does not star Glen or Marketa) is running Off Broadway through January 15th. You'll have trouble getting a ticket to the remaining performances, BUT tickets are on sale now for the show's new home at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre on Broadway. Broadway previews begin February 28th.

All Marketa dates and a video below...

Continue reading "'Once' musical moving to Broadway; Marketa Irglova schedules more live shows (dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Mountain Goats at Bowery Ballroom in March (more by Ryan Barkan)

Michael Dorf's (founder of Knitting Factory) series of tribute concerts to benefit music education programs for underprivileged youth (which last paid tribute to Neil Young in February) will continue on March 13, 2012 at Carnegie Hall, when 21 different artists will perform the 21 songs from The Rolling Stones' massive document of the early part of their long withstanding career, Hot Rocks 1964-1971. The compilation was released at the tail end of 1971, and was filled with the bluesy cuts that they used to leave their stamp on popular music (though notably includes no tracks from the psychedelic trip they took on Their Satanic Majesties Request in 1967) before putting together the colossal double album Exile On Main St. a few months later.

So far the artists that will be participating in the show include The Mountain Goats, Glen Hansard, Steve Earle, Rosanne Cash, Rich Robinson, and Carolina Chocolate Drops. More TBA soon. Tickets for the show are on sale now.

Meanwhile, Steve Earle will be kicking off a residency at Michael Dorf's venue City Winery with Allison Moorer and friends in January. The residency will take place every monday over the five week period of January 9 through February 6. Tickets for all five shows are on sale now. The Carnegie Hall show in March won't be the first time Steve has covered the Stones. He's been known to cover "Dead Flowers" at his shows. You can listen to a version recorded live in Calgary that appeared on the deluxe edition of his 1988 album Copperhead Road below.

The Mountain Goats, who also play at the Stones tribute, will be sticking around after the Carnegie Hall show to play NYC's Ecstatic Music Festival later that month. They'll be performing material with vocal quartet Anonymous 4 that frontman John Darnielle wrote for his new project Transcendental Youth, with arrangements by Owen Pallett. They play on March 24 at Merkin Concert Hall. Tickets for the show are still on sale. John Darnielle also just announced a bunch more 2012 dates, all of which are listed below.

All Mountain Goats & Steve Earle dates and the above-mentioned song stream, below...

Continue reading "a Rolling Stones tribute @ Carnegie Hall, Steve Earle & Allison Moorer residency, and more Mountain Goats dates"

photos by Toby Tenenbaum, words by Rachel Kowal

Glen Hansard, Sharon Van Etten, a Dessner



Other Voices, an annual musical festival held in Dingle, Ireland, may not be nearly as old as the town's pubs, but it has already become a rich, meaningful tradition since its inception in 2002. Though typically held in a tiny church, Other Voices jumped across the Atlantic and landed in Le Poisson Rouge for a couple of nights this week with the help of Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman), Glen Hansard, and others--and it's all for a good cause! (All proceeds of the shows go to benefit Fighting Words, a writing center for children and youth in Dingle.)

"We don't know where we're going, we don't know where we'll be when we get there, and when we get back we probably won't know where we've been, so join us on this journey this evening," said Irish actor/writer Gabriel Byrne effectively introducing the event's pleasantly discursive nature. What unfolded over the course of the next three-and-a-half hours was a hearty round of poetry, prose, and music, much in the spirit of Doveman's monthly series, the Burgundy Stain Sessions.

Artist after artist shuffled onto the stage. Highlights included Glen Hansard's beautiful stories and songs, a newer piece by Thomas Bartlett (appropriately about the rain), a song or two from the talented folk singer Sam Amidon, a beautiful brand new piece written just yesterday by Bryce and Aaron Dessner that was inspired by the streets of Dingle, a couple of traditional songs by renowned Irish fiddler Martin Hayes, Joseph O'Connor's reading of an ode that creatively highlighted many of New York's music legends, and a surprise performance by Sharon Van Etten (and her sister Heather). The guests just kept coming. Bell X1 (who played a Smiths cover), Martha Wainwright, Jape, The Lost Brothers, Justin Vivian Bond, Nico Muhly; and from the Irish literary scene: Philip King, Roddy Doyle, Colum McCann, and Paul Muldoon. An unrecognizably shaggy Damien Rice even made a surprise appearance to play a couple of beautiful, completely unplugged and unaccompanied songs on his acoustic guitar.

The camaraderie in the air was thick. Though each artist had a chance to be in the spotlight, its loose structure allowed for one-of-a-kind impromptu collaborations. After a week of running around to catch ridiculously brief sets, often with compromised sound, it was a nice change to remain still and embrace a long, calming set as talent after talent humbly took to the stage. If you go tonight, just make sure to wear comfy shoes or arrive early to snag one of the few seats.

More pictures from the night below...

Continue reading "Other Voices (Glen Hansard, Sam Amidon, Doveman, Bryce & Aaron Dessner, Sharon Van Etten & other surprise guests) @ Le Poisson Rouge -- night 1 pics & review"

Glen Hansard & Doveman @ Le Poisson Rouge (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Doveman's next edition of 'Burgundy Stain Sessions' at Le Poisson Rouge is this Friday night (9/23), and the listed special guests are: Chris Thile, Martha Wainwright, Trixie Whitley and Little Annie. Tickets for the collaborative evening of music are still on sale.

In October, on the 27th & 28th to be exact, 'Burgundy Stain Sessions' kick it up a notch with Other Voices NYC: A Celebration of Music & Literature. Scheduled to appear over the course of two nights at Le Poisson Rouge are: Glen Hansard (The Swell Season), Bryce & Aaron Dessner (The National), Doveman, Laurie Anderson, Sam Amidon, Bell X1, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Martin Hayes, Joseph O'Connor, and Colum McCann. Prestented in conjunction with Imagine Ireland with all proceeds going to FIGHTING WORDS Creative Writing Centre, tickets are on sale.

Speaking of the Swell Season, its other half Marketa Irglova has a tour coming up in November with a NYC show of her own. Bowery Ballroom tickets are still on sale.

The National have six huge NYC shows coming up.

Martha has one big holiday show coming up with her brother Rufus, and one with Rufus even sooner as part of the The Fourth Annual Plant & Sing Festival in Shelter Island, NY.

Rufus's opera 'Prima Donna' happens at BAM in Feb. 2012. Tickets are on sale now.

Kanye West & Big Sean @ Irving Plaza Tuesday (Joshua Laboy)

Maybe it was all the excitement of summer finally arriving, but for whatever reason, NYC shows have been pretty heavy on the special guests lately. Here's a few we know about.

Reggie Watts was the secret guest that joined Glenn Kotche and Buke & Gass during 'Wilco weekend' at NYU for the Jab Abumrad's Radiolab Concert on Saturday (6/18). Reggie was a secret because of the two Summerstage shows he's playing this week including the one in Red Hook Park TONIGHT (6/24).

Reptar was a secret guest at the Thee Oh Sees Brooklyn Bowl show on Saturday (Reptar played Governors Ball earlier that day). And as predicted, Thee Oh Sees themselves were the secret headliner at Death by Audio the previous night (6/17).

Reptar, who also opened for Art Brut at Music Hall last night, will open for Foster the People at Terminal 5 on September 27th. The only mystery here is how Foster the People are big enough to headline Terminal 5 already! Tickets are on sale.

Ted Leo showed up as a special guest at the Eleanor Friedberger show at Europa during Northside. Bradford Cox was in the Audience. Catch Ted again at the free South Street Seaport kickoff party for the 4Knots Festival that Eleanor plays at the South Street Seaport a week later. It was just announced that Eleanor will also open for Deerhunter at their Webster Hall shows in August. (Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox must have really liked her set) Tickets for both Deerhunter shows are still available.

As also recently mentioned both Clams Casino and Neon Indian (DJ) were added as last minute surprises guests to the Northside show at Cameo on Sunday (6/19). The show was one day after Neon Indian played Governors Ball. Monday night Cameo hosted semi-secret DJ sets by YACHT, The Miracles Club & Midnight Magic, all who played MHOW on Sunday.

Kanye West showed up at Big Sean's Irving Plaza show on Tuesday (6/21), the same night Big Sean appeared on the Bon Iver episode of Fallon. Despite two of Kanye's friends being on Fallon on the same night however, Kanye did not make an appearance on the show (not even backstage). Videos from Irving Plaza below.

Justin Vernon did not show up at the S. Carey/David Bazan show at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday (6/22), as we hoped he would. S. Carey is a member of Bon Iver's band and played with Justin the two days previous on both Fallon and Colbert.

Speaking of Fallon, Bob Mould (who DJs his Blowoff party at Highline Ballroom tonight) showed up and surprised people by playing a Sugar song backed by the Roots on the show. Mould recently performed live with the Foo Fighters during their set at Sasquatch. Video of that special guest appearance is below.

Lenny Kravtiz's daughter Zoë Kravitz and her band Elevator Fight played Southpaw with J*Davey on Tuesday (6/21). Lenny showed up to watch his daughter, but he wasn't the only crowd member blowing up Twitter. Drake was also in the audience to catch the show. FADER grabbed him outside the Park Slope venue for a quick video interview which you can watch below.

Flying Lotus & Just Blaze @ Music Hall (via the Comedian)

Flying Lotus headlined two Brainfeeder showcases (his label) this week. The first was at Bowery Ballroom on Monday (6/20) and the second at MHOW on Wednesday (6/22). Apparently trippy instrumentals aren't the only thing FlyLo digs when it comes to hip hop producers, because Just Blaze (Jay-Z, T.I.) showed up to play with him at the MHOW show. Flying Lotus also surprised NYC by playing a free late show at Le Poisson Rouge too.

Following in FlyLo's footsteps, Ivan & Alyosha gave NYC a gift in the form of a last-minute free late show at Mercury Lounge.

Crowded House frontman Neil Finn played with Eddie Vedder at Beacon Theatre on his tour with Glen Hansard.

And while opener Glen Hansard (Swell Season, the Frames) helped Vedder recreate "Sleepless Nights," the tender duet the pair shared on "Ukulele Songs," and the crowd found their voices and their feet for several of he night's tunes -- "Porch," "Unthought Known" -- the biggest roar erupted when Vedder invited Crowded House/Split Enz frontman Neil Finn to the stage for an impromptu collaboration Vedder jokingly called an "unrehearsed collision." With longtime friend Finn on organ, the twosome blended delicate harmonies on Hunters And Collectors' "Throw Your Arms Around Me." Finn took up a guitar and sat down next to Vedder to trade verses on Finn's Split Enz hit "I Got You," which found Finn playfully calling out chords to Vedder during the bridge. "It turns out we play that song differently," Vedder quipped, "But since he wrote it, he's right."

Decked out in a trio of long white lab coats, Finn (organ) and Hansard (guitar) returned with Vedder for the second encore, the rousing "Big Hard Sun" from "Into The Wild." [Billboard]

As you know, Stephen Colbert was the special guest with The Black Belles on his own show last night (6/23). He performed with the band and also recorded a single with them which is now on sale via Third Man Records. Jack White actually also appeared on the show this time for his third and final appearance during StePhest Colbchella '011 and then appeared with Colbert again today (6/24) at The Lot at the High Line. Jack and the Black Belles were also spotted last night (6/23) bowling at Brooklyn Bowl. According to Questlove (who was DJing the venue), he "has bowling game."

Tonight (6/24) is the another Doveman show at LPR. Lisa Hannigan (who played 3 sold out NYC-area shows this week) and Mike Doughty are billed as openers, but according to Doveman, some secret special guests will be showing up as well (as usual).

Last but not least, as hinted, and confirmed earlier today, Fucked Up are the special guest at 285 Kent Saturday (6/26) with JEFF the Brotherhood and Iceage. Tickets are on sale at Record Grouch. Iceage also played a secret show at 538 Johnson while they were in town for Northside.

Any special appearances we left out?

Videos below...

Continue reading "This Week in Special Guests (Kanye West, Reggie Watts, Reptar, Neil Finn, Drake, Just Blaze, Doveman & more)"

Swell Season @ Coachella 2011 (more by David Andrako)

....but not starring Glen & Marketa...

..."At the American Repertory Theater, the lead roles in "Once" were played by Steve Kazee ("110 in the Shade") and Cristin Milioti ("The Little Foxes" at New York Theater Workshop); Mr. Hart said that he hoped the two would continue with the production but that negotiations with the actors were in the hands of the Off Broadway theater.

Jim Nicola, artistic director of New York Theater Workshop, said in an interview that it was too early to discuss casting but added that he was "greatly impressed" with the work he saw in Cambridge. As for the piece itself, Mr. Nicola said that loved both the film and the musical adaptation of "Once," in part because "they are snapshots of contemporary Ireland and not a sentimentalized view of Ireland."" [NY Times]

photos by Andrew Bisdale

Glen Hansard in Temple of Dendur @ The Met -- 5/26/2011

Eddie Vedder will release his second solo album this Tuesday (5/31) Ukulele Songs via Universal, plus a live concert film Water on the Road. The album features guest vocals from Glen Hansard (The Frames, The Swell Season) and Cat Power's Chan Marshall. The DVD, directed by Brendan Canty of Fugzazi and Christoph Green, features performances from Vedder's 2008 solo tour. Ukulele Songs is currently streaming on NPR.

Vedder and Hansard will tour in support of the album this June and July. They will both also perform at the Pearl Jam Labor Day Destination Weekend festival at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI on September 3 and 4. Other performers include The Strokes, Queens of the Stone Age, Mudhoney, John Doe, Joseph Arthur, Liam Finn, and special guests to be announced. Tickets go on sale June 4 at 10 AM CST.

Pearl Jam are following the festival with a ten-day Canadian tour and a documentary film, Pearl Jam Twenty, directed by Cameron Crowe. The film will be released with an accompanying book and soundtrack album, for which Cameron Crowe selected the track listing, this fall.

Glen Hansard played a solo acoustic set in the Temple of Dendur at The Met last night (5/26). The show was "in celebration of the exhibition Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York" which is at the museum through July 4th. More pictures from that show, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Glen Hansard played the Met (pics), on new Eddie Vedder LP (stream it), playing Pearl Jam Labor Day Destination Weekend"

"Tenderly dismantling the romantic mythology surrounding 2006's indie smash Once, The Swell Season chronicles the surprise musical success of that movie's stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová and presents a couple that, however deep their bonds, can't live a storybook life for long. An easy sell with viewers who fell for the original film (and the albums it spawned), the doc by Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis does right by both fans and subjects and could make a profitable arthouse run." [Hollywood Reporter]

Continue reading "Glen Hansard is playing the Met, 'The Swell Season' movie played @ Tribeca Film Fest"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

Doveman played another guest-filled show at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC on Saturday night. The backing band was comprised of Brad Albetta (bass), Ben Perowsky (drums), Rob Moose (guitar, violin), and Doug Wieselman (clarinet, bass clarinet). Thomas Bartlett was joined by guests Martha wainwright, Justin Bond, Hannah Cohen (whose record Thomas is producing), Jennifer Charles of Elysian fields, Norah Jones (as advertised), Sara Quin (of Tegan and Sara), Nico Muhly, and Frames/Swell Season singer Glen Hansard. Pictures from the party are in this post.

No guests have been announced for Doveman's next shows yet, but this pats show's lineup has been the norm (read about past shows HERE and HERE), so get your tickets in advance if you want to go on May 26th or June 24th.

Meanwhile, Thomas/Doveman and Doug Wieselman will be two of the special guests at Jesse Harris's final residency show at the same venue this Tuesday night (4/26), as will the recently-added Kaki King. Tickets are still on sale.

Jesse, Doug and Martha Wainwright all share a bill, along with Elvis Perkins, at Cameo this Friday as part of the next edition of Noncerts which is still on sale.

You can also catch Martha on May 12 and 13 at the two shows honoring her late mother at Town Hall.

More pictures from Saturday's LPR show, below....

Continue reading "Doveman played another guest-filled show (pics), Martha Wainwright plays w/ Elvis Perkins & Jesse Harris Friday"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Rachel Kowal

Dawn Landes, Norah Jones & Doveman

January's inaugural Burgundy Stain Session began softly with just Sam Amidon and Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) on stage, but for the second show in the series (2/8 at Le Poisson Rouge), Bartlett, the host, took a different approach. "Tonight, I thought we'd start with everyone on stage," said Bartlett excitedly, prompting nine additional musicians (dubbed by Bartlett as his "all-star backing chorus") to emerge from the audience and assume their positions. Crowded around a few mic stands, the group launched into a sweet, melodic Doveman song, "Angel's Share." (Beth Orton had to cancel due to 'unforeseen circumstances.')

Modeled after a salon, the Burgundy Stain Sessions are largely unscripted and free-flowing. "Sorry I didn't give anybody a set list," Bartlett eventually confessed. "I don't even really have a set list. I'm just making it up as we go." But instead of resulting in a sloppy mess, the music came together nearly seamlessly, thanks in part to the grand maestro, Doveman, who conducted both verbally ("I need A flat right here!") and with his animated body language (sudden glances, wild head nods).

Following the happy unification of musicians at the top of the show, the spotlight shifted to unannounced returning guest Glen Hansard. Once he had procured a pick from someone in the audience, he was ready. At the last Session, Hansard turned to Bartlett and announced, "none of your jazzy shit," but on Tuesday night, he seemed to be going along with it, as evidenced by their first song together. Apparently the song was brand new. "So Glen recorded that not too many days ago," Bartlett revealed. "His friend went to take a walk and he wrote it."

Many of the musicians are long-time friends and collaborators. Bartlett and Hansard met six or seven years ago (Bartlett can't really remember), and Amidon entered the picture long before that as was evidenced by the impromptu reunion of Popcorn Behavior, the childhood band Bartlett and brother Sam and Stefan Amidon (ages 13, 13, and 10 respectively). In addition to a Popcorn Behavior song, Sam played a song or two of his own, including "I See the Sign," which featured Doug Wieselman on bass clarinet.

Next up was Steve Salett who showcased some songs from his project, The Poison Tree. (His debut album is due out in March.) Much of Salett's songs were marked by technical difficulties due to some cell phone interference, prompting the group to stop while Bartlett switched his cell phone to airplane mode (it turns out his phone wasn't the culprit), but the show continued, thanks to Salett's booming baritone and his picturesque songs about the broken-hearted.

Apart from Glen Hansard (who was also present at the last Burgundy Stain Session), perhaps the biggest surprise guest of the evening was Norah Jones who performed a couple of songs, including a lovely cover song by the late Canadian singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, "(Talk to me of) Mendocino."

Since Le Poisson Rouge was set up in the round, the performers faced inward on stage... with exception of the theatrical Justin Bond, who made sure to sing to the whole room. Before beginning to play, the snarky, morose performance artist managed to both hit on Sam and get the whole room laughing. "I'm feeling horny and generous tonight," said Bond by way of introduction. "So someone might have a very nice evening tonight... and it might just be me." Bond played a series of songs, often featuring lyrics borrowed from (delightfully risque or provocative) poetry.

The "genderqueer" singer definitely elicited the most laughs of the evening. "I've got some bourbon. It's in a plastic cup, but it looks like glass, so hey! I'm all for things that look like one thing and are another," joked Bond. It was wise to conclude the show with this rousing performance, but the end still came rather abruptly and unexpectedly, leaving Bartlett to quickly ramble off next month's collaborators: Elysian Fields, Martha Wainwright, Sara Quin (from Tegan and Sara), Dawn Landes, David Thomas Broughton, and more. Tickets are still on sale for that show, and for Sam Amidon's show at Glasslands, and for the one Justin Bond has coming up at Joe's Pub on 2/20.

More pictures from the 2/8 show below....

Continue reading "Doveman played another salon w/ Norah Jones, Glen Hansard & more (pics), announced guests for next time"

Bettye Lavette at Highline Ballroom (more by Jacob Blickenstaff )

A quick reminder that one of the greatest songwriters of all-time, Neil Young, will be celebrated at Carnegie Hall in two days (2/10) as part of a benefit for music & arts programs of underpriviledged youth. The bill is beyond diverse, featuring The Roots, Nada Surf, Glen Hansard, DeVotchka, J Mascis and Bettye Lavette just to name a few of the twenty+ that are on board. "100% of the net proceeds from this event" will benefit charities like Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools, Church Street School for Music & Art, The Pinwheel Project, Music Unites, The American Symphony Orchestra and Young Audiences New York, so pick up your tickets with a clear conscious!

Meanwhile, quite a few of the Neil Young-tribute artists have recently been or will be very active. Glen Hansard recently played City Winery and the Doveman show at LPR. Patti Smith & Jesse Smith are scheduled to play the Tibet benefit at Carnegie Hall in March. When Questlove of The Roots isnt going to see Prince or spinning at Brooklyn Bowl, he can be found on Jimmy Fallon. Nada Surf recently played Mercury Lounge and Rock Shop. DeVotchKa will play Highline in March with El Mariachi Bronx. Juliana Hatfield & Evan Dando were just at Maxwell's and the Bell House. J Mascis has his upcoming tour with shows at Mercury Lounge and MHoW.

Ben Ottewell of Gomez plays the Neil Young event and an early solo show at Mercury Lounge the next day.

And last, but certainly not least, Bettye Lavette, besides paying tribute to the great rock'n roll patriarch from the North, also has quite a NYC residency in the spring when she'll set up shop at Cafe Carlyle from 5/24 - 6/3 (no shows on 5/29, 5/30). Ticketing info is forthcoming, but all tour dates, the full Neil Young Tribute lineup and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Neil Young tribute show coming, Bettye Lavette playing shows at Cafe Carlyle & elsewhere, Ben Ottewell will be at Merc"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Beth Orton, Glen Hansard & Dawn Landes @ LPR

When Glen Hansard sets foot on the stages of a sold-out City Winery TONIGHT, it'll be his third visit to an NYC stage in a month. As advertised, The Frames frontman/Swell Season sensitive-man recently hopped on stage with Beth Orton, Sam Amidon, Nico Muhly, Dawn Landes, and as hinted, St. Vincent at the Doveman "Burgundy Stain Session" at Le Poisson Rouge in January (where these pics come from)...

"Thank you so much for coming," Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) began. "This is the first of these concerts that I'll be doing, and I thought it would be nice to start with just me and Sam because me and Sam have been playing music together since we were five."

The two kicked off the show with a simple, lovely, and faintly religious little song, "All is Well." Ringing out with repeatedly, the titular refrain seemed like a perfect starting point for the evening...

...After Sam had played through a few of his songs, he casually announced, "We're in a gospel mood," which was apparently Annie Clark's (St. Vincent) cue to make her way to the stage to fulfill her role as a "great gospel guitarist." Crouching down on stage in the shadow, Clark joined Amidon for one more song before the spotlight officially shifted to her. As she stood up, the stage lights shone through her messy main of curly hair, creating a halo that complimented her Amidon-annointed title....

...The evening proceded with a potpouri of performances. Hardly a song or two would pass before the configuration on stage would change. Beth Orton, Glen Hansard, and Dawn Landes would each have their turn. "One thing I realized is that I hate talking on stage so much that things are really going to need an emcee," Bartlett joked...." [Rachel Kowal]

The Poison Tree, as I wrote back in August 2009, "is Brooklyn, NY singer songwriter Steve Salett [of the King of France] and a rotating cast of collaborators borrowed from acts including The National, Rufus Wainwright, Antony and the Johnsons, and David Byrne." The Poison Tree's debut album will be released this March 15th on Embarque...

In recording its debut album, The Poison Tree leader Steve Salett, drew on a community of extraordinarily talented musicians that formed around Salett's Saltlands Studio and Saltmines rehearsal spaces in Brooklyn. "I approached it as, 'if you build it, they will come.' After that, a space and community coalesced organically around the rehearsal rooms," says Steve. "For The Poison Tree, we were able to pull musicians who regularly use the Saltmines. If we needed violin, trumpet, whatever, we just walked down the hall."

The supporting cast is extraordinary: Thomas Bartlett, better known as Doveman and briefly a member of King of France, provides much of the atmospheric Wurlitzer, piano, and organ parts. Of The Poison Tree, he says, "Steve is one of my favorite songwriters. Each song is a simple, perfect gesture, but with an elusive, enigmatic quality that will never lose its fascination for me."

Singer Dawn Landes, who will open for Justin Townes Earle on the road next month and also sang on Josh Ritter's latest album, also sang on 'The Poison Tree' record and did some engineering work. Others include bassist Jeff Hill (Rufus Wainwright), drummer Konrad Meissner (Graham Parker), and trumpeter C.J. Camerieri (Rufus Wainwright). Gary Mauer of Hem co-produced the album with Salett.

Lastly, besides writing all of the songs and playing guitar and vocals, the multi-talented Salett also co-produced and plays dulcimer, Rhodes, and whistle.

Don't forget that Sam Amidon has a show coming up at Glasslands on 2/16 (tickets), and even before that will join Nico Muhly, Bishi, Bryce Dessner, and ACME at St.Ann's Warehouse as part of Nico Muhly's Tell The Way. Tickets are available for all three shows, Feb 10th-12th.

More pictures from the 1/14 Doveman are below...

Continue reading "guests announced for 2/8 Doveman show (Justin Bond, Poison Tree, Beth Orton) --- St .Vincent, Glen Hansard & more played last time (pics)"

DOWNLOAD: Doveman - Love Shines a Light (Katrina & the Waves cover) (MP3)

Thomas 'Cibo Matto' Bartlett @ LPR (more by Chris La Putt)

Doveman (aka Thomas Bartlett and sometimes a band) is starting a new salon series of collaborative concerts at NYC's Le Poisson Rouge. "The Burgundy Stain Sessions" kick off on January 14th at 7pm with very special guests Sam Amidon (who also plays in Doveman when Doveman is a band), Glen Hansard of the Frames and Swell Season (who Thomas has also played with before), Beth Orton (ditto), and "special guests." Rumor says the special guest for the first show might be St. Vincent.

Thomas says the shows will be "a forum for me and my friends to try out new material, showcase new bands, explore new collaborations, and drink." Drink with them. Tickets are still on sale for the January show. Look for lineups and tickets to soon be announced for the next shows which will take place on February 8th at 10pm and March 16th at 10pm.

Doveman recently appeared at Le Poisson Rouge as part of the reunited Cibo Matto, and also has a NYC show coming up at Merkin Hall in March.

Sam Amidon also has other shows coming up including three in February with Nico Muhly at St. Ann's Warehouse.

Mountain Winery stage (a previous show) (MattAlbers)

Writes [a] witness:

"Glen was just finishing a little song that one of his band members had made up. The crowd was singing along with him and he was looking for the band member as we finished singing along. I just happened to look up and I saw this guy falling from the top of the roof on the right side of the building behind the stage. He landed about 3 feet to the left of Glen [Hansard] on a speaker and he was motionless, like a rag doll. It was about 10pm. At first there was a split moment where everyone was like, what is going on and then people started to scramble to help. They did CPR. The show stopped immediately. The crowd was in shock, but pretty cooperative exiting the venue."

And another witness:

"I saw him fall from what appeared to be the lighting rigging, which is why I thought it was a light at first. He fell about three stories, if he did in fact jump off [the] roof. It was about 10pm. The band was between songs with most of them off stage. Lead singer [Glen Hansard] had just led crowd in a sort-of sing-along. Crowd seemed stunned at first, like me. Then you could hear some people sobbing. He fell on the front right of stage as you look at it from [the] audience. They performed CPR."
[SF Weekly]

This incident comes just one day after a man almost died after jumping down 25+ feet at a Phish concert in NY.

The Swell Season played Brooklyn & the Newport Folk Festival at the end of July.

Video taken at the Saratoga show right after the man jumped, below...

Continue reading "Man kills himself at Swell Season concert (jumped from roof over stage during show at Mountain Winery in Saratoga)"

photos by Matthew Eisman

Swell Season @ Prospect Park on July 30th

"In support of a new record, Strict Joy, the Swell Season came to Brooklyn to play to a hypnotized, but almost manic crowd. "Low Rising" from Strict Joy represented the best of where the Swell Season are going - soulful, deep seeded pop music. So no surprise when they later turned out Van the Man's "Into the Mystic", with a backing New York horn section. And they kept the orchestral machinations of the Once soundtrack to a minimum, focusing instead on electric and acoustic guitars, relying on one solid fiddle player for strings. And of course they shined strongest on the sparse acoustic torch songs, just the two of them on "Falling Slowly" (the way the song was meant to be played), and Glenn in particular on the almost over-the-top-it's-so-good "Say It To Me Now".

Meanwhile, The Low Anthem just about stole the damn show. The Low Anthem are a band, and Oh My God, Charlie Darwin is a record, that personifies American roots without immediately summoning a particular brand of it. What's evoked is a creeky, wooden empty room in a house, about sundown, and a few candles or incandescent bulbs alight in a chandelier. The guitars, the horns, the keys, the saw, that amazing upright bass (with a solo for the books) - the ghosts of America, thoughtful and contemplative, lost. Something where Moby Dick, Andrew Jackson, the Civil War, and Leadbelly have a get together."
[Sonic Parthenon]

Both bands also played the Newport Folk Fest over the weekend, and NPR streamed and recorded both sets. The Low Anthem doesn't seem to be up at the moment, but The Swell Season can be listened to now.

One-half of the Swell Season Glen Hansard will be back in NYC in November for a show with his band the Frames at Terminal 5.

The Low Anthem play a free show in CT on Tuesday night (8/3).

More pictures and videos from the show (and Swell Season's performance on Jimmy Kimmel) are below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season & Low Anthem played Celebrate Brooklyn (pics & video) & Newport Folk Festival (stream) "

words by Kurt Christensen photos by Tim Griffin

The Swell Season returned to a sold out Radio City Music Hall last night (1/19), playing a long set of new and older songs along with a few incredible covers that had the audience eating out of the palms of their hands.

Josh Ritter opened the show while the crowd was still rolling in. He played a brief six song set - three songs from his upcoming album, to be released in May, and three older songs (Rumors, Girl in the War, To the Dogs or Whoever). The crowd was appreciative, but a longer set certainly would've won over the portion of the audience unfamiliar with his music. He will return to New York to play Town Hall on May 20th (tix on AmEx Presale).

The Swell Season's set started with Glen and Marketa sitting on the floor as they played "Fallen from the Sky". After a few songs, the rest of the band, consisting of members of the Frames joined them. After another set of songs, Glen took the stage solo. He unplugged his guitar and walked away from the mic to the front of the stage to sing "Say It to Me Now". He followed up with an incredible cover of Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks", playing the guitar so powerfully that it seemed as if his battle scarred guitar was going to explode.

A Swell Season show is known just as much for Glen's storytelling between songs as it is for the music. It is rare to see a band so genuinely happy to be on stage, and humbled by the adoration they receive from the crowd. Their sets usually feature several cover songs and plenty of requests for the audience to participate in the singing. Aside from the Astral Weeks cover, they also played Springsteen's Drive all night with Clarence Clemons' nephew on sax. Two songs were dedicated to Kate McGarrigle, and the show closed with "Red Chord", a Frames song, into "The Parting Glass", a traditional Irish song made famous by The Clancy Brothers. Even after a two and a half hour set, the crowd left happy but wanting more.

The Swell Season will make another appearance tonight (1/20) at City Winery as part of their four-show Haiti benefit series. More pictures and the setlist from Radio City below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season played Radio City again (pics & setlist) w/ Josh Ritter (who is playing Town Hall) "

The Swell Season @ 92YTribeca (more by Chris La Putt)

"Glen was as modest and down to earth as ever. He became frustrated when his guitar didn't do what he wanted. He thanked everyone for coming (especially Paddy, or is it Patty, in the front row who he thinks has been at every NYC show he's ever played), and for paying money to do so. He acknowledged that he expected the great success of last year to not always be there in the future. I imagine he is fine with the possibility that it won't always be Radio City and the Academy Awards, but I have no doubt The Swell Season can do it again..." [me]

The first time they played Radio City was May 2008. A live recording of the show is not available for sale, but audio from many other dates on that same tour is.

The new NYC show is a full month after all of their previously announced tour dates. The new album "Strict Joy" is out October 27th. Video of Glen and Marketa playing new songs for NPR, below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season playing Radio City again, with Josh Ritter"

photos by Chris La Putt

The Swell Season's new album, Strict Joy, is out October 27th on Anti-. On Monday night, September 14th, the Irish & Czech duo (who are no longer a couple) performed at 92YTribeca in Manhattan. 92YTribeca is an intimate, and kind of swanky, downtown NYC venue that is much smaller than the places the Academy Award-winning band played last time they were here (Radio City and Summerstage). It's also probably much smaller than the ones they'll play next (nothing announced yet) (Beacon Theatre?). Bands often visit NYC for press purposes before an album, and I think that's related to why this show happened. Limited tickets were sold for $35 a pop. It was a packed house with tables taking up most of the room. People stood on the sides and in the back.

The setup on stage was spare. Glen Hansard had an old acoustic guitar which sometimes had "a mind of its own". Markéta Irglová sat at the piano when she wasn't standing up singing, either with Glen or by herself. They alternated playing solo and together. They flew in the night before, and hadn't performed in a while. Glen related that last fact to his forgetting to pack a few things, like his guitar tuner. To remedy the situation, he told us he downloaded iTune, an iPhone app that helps you tune your instrument. He even gave a demonstration of it after showing us how the Brian Eno iPhone app works (not sure if it was the old one or the brand new one). The iPhone segment was one of Glenn's many trademark (and entertaining) stories of the evening. His funny anecdotes offset the feelings of woe that dominate Swell Season songs.

Glen was as modest and down to earth as ever. He became frustrated when his guitar didn't do what he wanted. He thanked everyone for coming (especially Paddy, or is it Patty, in the front row who he thinks has been at every NYC show he's ever played), and for paying money to do so. He acknowledged that he expected the great success of last year to not always be there in the future. I imagine he is fine with the possibility that it won't always be Radio City and the Academy Awards, but I have no doubt The Swell Season can do it again (even if their demographic becomes less my friends, and more my mom's). Everything else aside, Glen (who is also in the band The Frames), can sing and play. And so can Marketa. It was especially noticeable since I'd just returned at 5am that morning from ATP NY, a festival in upstate NY where I saw a variety of bands, of varying musical abilities, perform.

The Swell Season setlist ranged from new songs to old songs to covers to something Glen wrote the night before. I don't know exactly what Glen's relationship is to Nico Muhly (Nico may have worked on the new album), but I know that Nico and Glen have a friend and collaborator Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman) in common. I didn't see Thomas there, but Nico (who performed with Thomas at the Miller Theatre just a few days earlier) was, and he played a solo piano song in the middle of Swell Season's set. It was kind of weird - maybe out of place. Glen introduced his friend Nico before leaving the stage (Marketa was already off). Nico then came up and played his song, and then Nico left and then the Swell Season came back. Regardless, special guests are always fun and I like Nico.

"Falling Slowly" (the big hit) was played early in the set, and my initial excitement turned into "I guess I'm sick of this song", but the Once songs they played at the end, "When Your Mind's Made Up" and "Lies", felt much better. Other highlights included an upbeat cover of Tim Buckley's :"Buzzin' Fly" mixed with a bit of Jeff Buckley's "Grace", anything Marketa did solo, and the closing number which was a cover of Daniel Johnston's "Devil Town". During that, Glen had the NYC crowd singing along to the chorus which he repeated a few times, partially A Capella and sometimes with accompanying funny faces, accents, and vampire gestures. He sang part of it with a German accent, and he ended with a pose he called a "Kanye moment". The crowd followed with a laugh and a standing ovation.

More pictures and tour dates (which were recently announced, but no NYC yet), and the NY show's setlist, below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season (and Nico Muhly & Brian Eno's iPhone app) played 92YTribeca - pics, review, setlist & 2009 Tour Dates "

DOWNLOAD: Swell Season - In These Arms (MP3)

August 10, 2009 - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova record and tour together using the name The Swell Season, which is a shorter but far less descriptive moniker than "Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Who Won Oscars for the Song 'Falling Slowly,' From the Hit Indie Musical Once." So when we informed our coworkers that last Wednesday's Tiny Desk Concert would feature the pair, the response generally ran somewhere along the lines of, "Um, okay. ... Wait, who? THEM? REALLY?"

Hansard and Irglova stopped by our Washington, D.C., offices as a way of passing time between trips to New York and Denver, with the understanding that 1) we'd set up a keyboard for Irglova to play; and 2) they'd be expected to perform the standard three- or four-song Tiny Desk set. Both plans fell by the wayside quickly. The gigantic keyboard we'd provided would have been far more suitable had Irglova been a member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, so they opted to scrap it and huddle up around Hansard's battered acoustic guitar. And three songs? Well, that wouldn't do. Hansard kept asking to play longer; not surprisingly, he met little resistance." [NPR]

According to a news posting today, The Swell Season will be announcing a full North American tour next week with a presale for most tickets going on sale September 9th. They also list a few previously announced shows including November 18th at The Wiltern in LA. What isn't there is the show they're playing at 92YTribeca in NYC on September 14th which is ON SALE NOW. All dates below...

Continue reading "The Swell Season - new album, stream, MP3, small NYC show (ON SALE NOW) & other tour dates (and more coming)"

"The Happy Ending Music and Reading Series, chosen by New York Magazine and NY Press as the best reading series in NYC, and singled out by the New York Times Magazine for helping to "Keep downtown alive," features the most interesting storytellers, writers, musicians, raconteurs and personalities, and requires the readers to take one public risk, while the musicians, who perform two short sets with their original, lyric-driven music, are required to play one cover song and try to get the audience to sing along."

Glen appears at Carnegie Hall for the R.E.M. tribute exactly one week later.

According to MySpace, The Swell Season "are currently in the studio with Joe, Colm and Rob of The Frames, Graham Hopkins and other special guests working on their next album, with hopes of finishing it up and having it released later this year."

SMH reports,

And what about Hansard and Irglova? Once is a love story and it has such a persuasive documentary feel about it that surely the love that develops between the two of them has to be more than just an on-screen illusion.

"It did become a real relationship," Hansard admits. "I think it was just a very natural part of what we were doing together. We had made the film. We had gone through so much with the Oscar. Of course, we fell into each other's arms. It was a very necessary part of our friendship but I think we both concluded that that wasn't what we really wanted to do. So we're not together now. We are just really good friends."

The work they do together, which started with the film Once and continued with the album The Swell Season, has continued. Now the duo has recorded a new album that they are considering releasing independently.

"I am trying to keep the simple philosophy that the Frames have always had," Hansard says. "I don't want to start signing to a major label when I am 38. Right now I am trying to figure out the best deal for us."

Continue reading "Glen Hansard playing Joe's Pub & Carnegie Hall "

More pictures and the setlist from Monday night's show below....

Continue reading "updated setlist & more pics from Swell Season @ Radio City"

The Swell Season (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova performing songs from the motion picture Once) played a triumphant, sold-out, and emotional (though at times a bit 'adult contemporary') two hour show at Radio City Music Hall in NYC last night (May 19, 2008). A setlist will surface soon enough and that will help summarize things better than I can do right now, but... there was a lot of storytelling, a shout-out to Pianos where they played two years ago, two Van Morrison songs, Marketa's singing sister from the Czech Republic, an opener from Ireland who later came on stage with the Swell Season, a violinist who played one of his own songs, and at least two standing ovations. There was not any Kraftwerk or Pixies.

The Swell Season's next NYC show will be at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park (Summerstage) on September 17, 2008. Tickets go on sale Thursday.

Sound seepage is a common problem at Coachella and Glen Hansard found himself in the thick of it when he started the Swell Season's outdoor stage set solo with just an acoustic guitar. Rock from the mainstage and beats from the tents gave him pause.
"How to be louder than the Raconteurs? You turn it up," he said midsong, and indeed the PA was boosted a good 20-30% louder. Thrilled when Jack White and company finished, he half joked " now all we've got to worry about is Aphex Twin."

Not only did Hansard, who won the best song Oscar this year with his partner Marketa Irglova, handle it all in stride, he turned the Swell Season set into a Coachella celebration. He recruited the National's drummer Bryan Devendorf and played covers of other acts' songs: in honor of meeting Kim Deal, she was here with the Breeders, Hansard and Irglova dueted on the Pixies "Cactus," and with the full band did an impressive version of Kraftwerk's "Model." [VARIETY]

Continue reading "the SWELL SEASON - covered KRAFTWERK & the PIXIES @ Coachella, played Kimmel -- videos & tour dates "

Tickets go on sale Saturday for the Oscar-winning Swell Season show at Radio City Music Hall. There's also a presale going on now (possibly sold out) (password=FALLING).

Continue reading "Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly - Oscars video"